Method for limiting the movement of an infant in a particular direction

ABSTRACT

A method for limiting the movement of a toddler which comprises the placement of a barrier upon flooring. The barrier comprises a plurality of studs having upward extending sections. The barrier can be stepped over by adults while preventing further movement in that direction by the toddler.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Infants are curious about their surroundings. From the time they areable to crawl, a baby will move, driven by curiosity from place toplace. Infants will open drawers or grab items within their reach. Someitems can be dangerous to the child; for example, sharp items such askitchen knives or forks. Other items like glass or keepsakes can bebroken or damaged if mishandled by the child.

Existing in the prior art are a myriad of devices developed for aninfant's protection around the home. Child-proof locks prevent a childfrom opening drawers and gaining access to the contents within. Infantplay-pens limit movement; however, the problem with play-pens is thatthey typically provide a very short term remedy as the infant does notenjoy the confined space and voices his displeasure by crying. Also usedare fences and gates to prevent an infant's movement from one room toanother.

Usually, these devices detract from a home's overall asthetic design.Further, they themselves typically become a nuisance to parents who areforced to open and close a gate when moving from room to room.

New parents are thus faced with the dilemma of either: a) limiting thechild's movement to a very confined space like a play-pen and sufferthrough the child's crying; or, b) not using a play-pen and constantlyhaving to watch the infant as it moves around the home.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

My invention is a method for limiting the movement of infants and smalltoddlers. As used in this specification, infant and toddler have thesame meaning. My method can also be used for small domesticated petssuch as small dogs. Specifically, the method pertains to the creation ofan appropriately sized low-profile barrier to prevent movement by thetoddler in a direction across the barrier.

Barriers can be created adjacent to cabinets, bookcases, stereoequipment, etc. or the barrier can be created across an entryway or thelike.

The barrier can be made of various designs. Important aspects of myinvention are that the barrier be of a sufficient length and width toprevent an infant or small pet from either: a) reaching an undesiredplace such as a drawer or cabinet; or, b) being able to cross over thebarrier. Also, the barrier must comprise a plurality of upward extendingsections that have a top surface design that is incapable of puncturingthe skin of an infant or that is generally not harmful to the infant butthat will discourage traversing. Finally, the barrier must below-profile to prevent the infant from being able to grab or removecertain portions or the barrier in its entirety.

The term “barrier ” as used in this specification can have two meaningsto represent two types of barriers. The first barrier type can beconstructed of a sheeting material upon the top surface of which are aplurality of upward extending sections and the sheeting can beappropriately sized and thereafter positioned on the flooring wheredesired. The second barrier type is where a plurality of upwardextending sections are attached to the flooring and the placementconfiguration of the plurality of sections is collectively referred toas a barrier.

The barrier is designed to have a low profile so that adults and olderchildren will have no difficulty stepping across or reaching over. Inone embodiment, the barrier is comprised of a plurality of studs. Eachstud can be individually attached upon sheeting (first barrier type) orthe studs can be individually attached to the flooring (second barriertype). Alternatively, a plurality of studs or upward extending sectionscan be positioned upon a plurality of horizontal units and the units canbe appropriately positioned to form the barrier (second barrier type).

For hard floor surfaces such as wood, tile, or vinyl, each stud, upwardextending section, or horizontal unit can be adhesively attached eitherdirectly to the flooring or by the use of Velcro®.

An example for use with carpets, each horizontal unit can be adhesivelyattached but the length of the pile may substantially reduce the properorientation and thus the effectiveness of each stud. Therefore,preferably, the studs or horizontal units can be attached to the topside of a sheeting material such as a plastic sheet or wood panel, orsome other sheeting material which would provide acceptable positioningof a plurality of low-profile upward extending sections (second barriertype). The sheeting would then be sized to conform to the intended use.The sheeting can then be appropriately positioned for use such as eitherin a doorway, or in front of a cabinet or shelf, etc. The sheetingmaterial can be designed to have adhesive material over a portion of thebottom side so that it can be adhesively attached to the carpet pile, orsome other means to affix the sheeting into position can be used. Thiscan provide some resistance to an infant who attempts to slide or liftthe sheeting material away from the desired position.

Each horizontal unit has at least one substantially upward extendingsection or stem. The top portion of the section is designed to have adull point, or short flat surface, or some other form which is intendedto provide temporary discomfort when touched and body weight appliedthereon. Sharp points or surfaces are discouraged since such forms maypuncture the skin and physically injure the infant.

The upward extending section design has a low profile so that it isdifficult for an infant to grab and detach or to cause injury if fallenupon. Therefore, the substantially upward extending section is of a veryshort length. The low profile and barrier configuration permits adultsto walk over the barrier with no difficulty.

In sum, the barrier should be designed so that contact with the stud oran alternative design to the stud will result in temporary discomfortbut not cause injury. Contact with the barrier should simply discourgethe infant from further movement in a certain direction. For example, inthe situation where an infant is crawling, the barrier design should becapable of causing discomfort to the hand or knee if the infant attemptsto cross the barrier and put its weight on its hand or knee. In thesituation where an infant is walking, the barrier design should becapable of causing discomfort to the feet.

The low profie barrier design can take many forms. Placement of thestuds or the like does not have to abut next to studs or the like oneither side. Positioning can be spaced but should not so spaced so thatan infant's foot can step into the barrier without contacting a surfacearea which will provide discomfort or uncomfortableness to the infant.

As mentioned above, infants are curious. It is to be understood that theinfant, not knowing the purpose of the barrier, will attempt to crawl orwalk over the barrier. My method relies on the infant's inherentlearning mechanism. Initially, the infant will not know the purpose ofthe barrier and will attempt to cross, thereby encountering a surfacearea which will cause temporary discomfort upon contact. The infant maycry for a short time.

The infant may make several more attempts to cross the barrier. However,once the infant is conditioned to believe it can not cross the barrier,it will not attempt to cross any more. When this situation occurs, theinfant understands that the purpose of the barrier is to prevent furthermovement in that direction. However, since the toddler is not confinedto a small play-pen, he is less likely to cry since an entire room isavailable to move about.

The barrier is created upon the floor and the required depth of thebarrier is only to be of a distance which is only slightly more than thestep or two of an infant.

Therefore, older children and adults would have no difficulty steppingover the barrier or reaching across a barrier.

My method provides many advantages. Creating a barrier across theentrance to a room allows the infant to move about the room rather thanbeing limited to the confined space of a play-pen. No unsightly fencesor gates are required. Older children and adults would have nodifficulty walking across the barrier. Besides keeping the infant withinthe room, additional barriers can be positioned within the room and usedto prevent the infant from reaching into a drawer, stereo cabinet orcd/dvd cabinet. Also, barriers can be positioned at the base and/or topof a stairway, preventing the infant from potentially falling andcausing serious injury.

It should be obvious that the barrier will not be effective when thetoddler is walking with shoes. Also, it is to be understood that mymethod is for small toddlers preferably from the age they begin to crawlto approximately 16 months old or to when the toddler has developed thecognitive skill to jump over the barrier or be able to slide a flatsurface over the barrier to act as a bridge for crossing.

It is to be understood that the design described above is one embodimentfor my invention, but many other designs are capable of performing thesame objective, namely to prevent the infant from crossing over thebarrier. The upward extending sections, which encompass the stud design,can be intermittent or continuous across the barrier and any design isacceptable so long as an infant can not navigate across the barrierwithout contacting at least one top surface design. Therefore, otherbarrier designs having these qualities should be considered as beingpart of my herein described method.

As further examples of my invention, instead of a single sheetingmaterial, multiple strips containing at least one upward extendingsection can be used that can be spaced parallel from one another; themultiple strips thus forming the intended barrier. Another example iswhere instead of strips, decorative patterns, squares, circles,octagons, etc, containing upward extending sections can be installedupon the flooring to form the intended barrier.

Because of the low-profile design, the horizontal units and upwardextending sections are less asthetically intrusive than are fences,gates, and playpens.

Commercially, consumers could purchase pre-made sheeting material whichinclude the upward extending sections either in roll form or flat-sheetform and then appropriately size the sheeeting at home simply by cuttingthe sheeting. Alternatively, the upward extending sections could bepurchased in packages and can then be secured to particularly hardflooring in an appropriate pattern to create the barrier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top schematic view of a portion of a home floor planillustrating the use of barriers for preventing infant movement.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a horizontal unit comprising a plurality ofupward extending sections.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the horizontal unit described in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates the use of my barrier 10 a or 10 b to limit themovement of an infant in a room, a portion of which is defined by “A”.In this illustration, barriers are depicted by 10 a and 10 b. Eachbarrier is comprised of a plurality of horizontal units 14. Each barriercan be a sheeting material upon which horizontal units are attached orthe barrier simply marks the outer perimeter of the arranged horizontalunits attached directly to a floor surface.

Barrier 1 a is placed in front of a piece of furniture such as a cabinetor television or stereo and barrier 10 b is placed in the space leadingto another room. Barrier 10 a is of a sufficient length and width toprevent the infant or toddler from reaching over and barrier. Barrier 10b is of a sufficient length and width to prevent the infant or toddlerfrom walking over.

Barriers 10 a and 10 b comprise the placement of a plurality ofhorizontal units 14 upon each of which are a plurality of upwardextending units or studs 12 as illustrated in FIG. 2. Each stud 12, asshown in FIG. 3 has a low profile and comprises a top end having arounded tip to prevent puncture or injury.

A plurality of studs 12 can be formed on a single horizontal unit 14 anda plurality of units 14 can be positioned to form a barrier such as thatdepicted by either 10 a or 10 b.

Once a barrier having a sufficient length and depth is positionedproperly in front of a piece of furniture or entryway, the infant, notknowing the purpose of the barrier, will attempt to cross and thus placeits weight on one or more of studs 12. The infant will experiencetempory discomfort and may cry. However, the infant's learning mechanismwill teach it not to cross the barrier. Once the infant is conditioned,it will not attempt to cross the barrier until it develops the necessarycognitive skills to jump the barrier or place something over the barrierto protect it from studs 12.

1. A method for preventing movement of an infant in a particulardirection by creating a barrier on a floor comprising the steps of:providing a plurality of low-profile upward extending sections, eachupward extending section having a top surface design that is incapableof puncturing the skin of an infant; and, attaching each of saidplurality of upward extending sections across a portion of the floor tocreate a barrier to prevent further movement of the infant in adirection across the barrier.
 2. A method for preventing movement of aninfant in a particular direction by creating a barrier on a floorcomprising the steps of: providing a plurality of low-profile upwardextending sections, each upward extending section having a top surfacedesign that is incapable of puncturing the skin of an infant, saidplurality of low-profile upward extending sections extend upward fromthe top surface of a sheeting material; and, appropriately sizing thelength and depth of the sheeting material to substantially conform tothe portion of the floor intended to be placed upon; positioning saidsheeting material across a portion of the floor to create a barrier toprevent further movement of the infant in a particular direction.
 3. Themethod of claim 2 where said sheeting is adhesively attached to theflooring.
 4. The method of claim 2 where said sheeting is attached tothe flooring using Velcro®.
 5. A method for preventing movement of aninfant in a particular direction by creating a barrier on a floorcomprising the steps of: providing a sheeting material, said sheetingmaterial having a plurality of upward extending low profile sections,each low profile section having a top surface design that is incapableof puncturing the skin of an infant; appropriately sizing the sheetingmaterial; and, positioning the sheeting material in a desired locationupon a floor to create a barrier to prevent movement of an infant in adirection across the barrier.